A Nigerian woman living in the United States has been arrested for allegedly voting illegally in two major elections.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, a resident of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested on Wednesday by federal agents and charged with unlawful voting as an alien.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Okafor is a Nigerian citizen born in Aba who only obtained her permanent residency, or green card, in December 2022. She is not a U.S. citizen and has never applied for citizenship.
Despite this, investigators allege she registered to vote in July 2022, signing under oath that she was a U.S. citizen. She was then registered by the City of Lynn and reportedly voted in the midterm elections that year.
The authorities say she did it again in October 2023, filling out a second voter registration form and checking the box for U.S. citizen, and then voting in the 2024 presidential primary.
The offence carries a maximum punishment of one year in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. She also risks deportation after any sentence.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh and is part of a wider crackdown by the recently established Benefit & Voter Fraud Team and the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed that the charges are mere allegations and Okafor is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.